Talking Your Tech: Pollak is 'all in' with Hollywood Poker
- First Celebrity Tournament for poker is Nov. 10
- Relishes long-form conversations on his show
- New book is due out Nov. 8
LOS ANGELES — Kevin Pollak is best known for his comedy and as a character actor who has appeared in more than 70 movies, including A Few Good Men, Casino, The Usual Suspects and Avalon. He's also the host and producer of Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, which runs on Hulu and Ustream, and the "ambassador" (spokesman and investor) of the new Hollywood Poker game, which launched Monday on Facebook. Contestants can play along with celebrities in real time, winning virtual goods.
We met up with Pollak at his home in Los Angeles recently, as he was preparing to have Jason Alexander (George on Seinfeld) and other celebs play poker. He shared thoughts on a variety of topics:
Online poker
"It's a great way for celebrities to hang out in social media and keep in contact with their fans. We're hoping to become the biggest game on Facebook." Celebrities pop in and play Hollywood Poker when they feel like it. The best way to ensure seeing a star online is to enroll in the Celebrity Tournament, Pollak says. The first one is Nov. 10.
The 'Chat Show'
In 2009, Pollak met Internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis and mentioned that he'd love to do a funny twist on the Charlie Rose show. At the time, Pollak had 40,000 followers on Twitter, and launched the show from his base. Now he has nearly 300,000 followers, and new episodes run live every Sunday at 3 p.m. PT on Ustream and Hulu. "There's no long form conversation anymore. You can go on YouTube and see (1960s era talk show host) Dick Cavett talk to John Lennon for 90 minutes. So I just imagined, let's do that. It's just an amazing opportunity to have a real conversation with famous people." Guests have included actors Alan Arkin, Drew Carey and Ed O'Neill. The show costs $500 a week to make, and sponsors pay $1,000 to $5,000 for their spots. "We make a profit." The Chat Show averages up to 1 million downloads weekly.
Chat pays
Pollak says the visibility of the Chat Show brought him Hollywood Poker, an invitation to play in July's World Series of Poker, and a book deal. His book, How I Slept My Way to the Middle, will be published by Lyons Press on Nov. 6. "This all came from me saying, 'I think I'd like to do a Charlie Rose type show online.'"
Tech at home
The Sonos wireless speaker, which streams music from the computer, "is a daily part of my life." He controls it from the Sonos app on his iPhone and iPad. "I listen to it outside, upstairs, downstairs, everywhere."
Apps he loves
As a touring stand-up comedian, he likes the Hipmunk travel app. "It's better than Travelocity," he says. On the set, when he's bored, he reaches for Shout It, an app that lets you type a phrase and have it scroll across the screen. He also uses the IMDb movie database app and Showtimes for local movie listings.
Waking up
He sleeps with his iPhone. "Technically. It is on vibrate ... on a nightstand. I use it as my alarm clock. The first thing that happens is I check my iPhone. That happens before I brush my teeth. I check my e-mails, texts, tweets, everything."